Hope springs eternal from Lindsay's lens

After years juggling his duel passions of land surveying and environmental conservation, the 58-year-old had the pleasure of putting a source of constant conflict to rest when he gave up his senior managerial role in a development company in favour of semi-retirement.

Last night he continued his attempts to undo the damage or at least minimise it when he presented an audio-visual concert highlighting the wildlife and natural beauty of Australia and the wider world at the Buderim War Memorial Hall.

Mr Hope first dabbled in photography when he settled on the Coast 30 years ago and continued to discover his talent behind the lens in a series of trips to Britain and across his home country, combining his increasing ability with a love of the wild originally seeded from a carefree childhood in the Blue Mountains.

He has since built his hobby into a show combining Irish and Australian music with the spectacular scenery he has captured on film, all while wrestling with a role he recently relinquished in favour of helping people re-align the boundaries of their property.

Its been a source of constant conflict one might say, he said.

Mr Hope will donate some of the profits of last nights concert to the Australian Wilderness Society, a cause he has steadily grown towards since watching large tracts of untouched forests disappear from his own backyard under the weight of the Sunshine Coasts population boom.

Like many people I had a dream of more low-rise and eco-friendly development, said Mr Hope, who also founded the Sunshine Coast Bushwalkers Club.